Action man Norton boss Ray Morton went into emergency services mode to save the day at Station Road last week.

The Ancients chief dashed onto the pitch to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after the man in black was sparked out in a nasty head-on collision with a player.

Referee David Raine was sent crashing to the ground 15 minutes into the NL Division Two clash with North Shields when he turned neatly and straight into the path of a player racing at breakneck speed.

He was left flat out on the pitch amid fears he had swallowed his tongue.

Morton, a no-nonsense drug squad cop by day, charged on to clear his airways, get him breathing again and make him comfortable while officials called an ambulance to whisk the ref off to accident and emergency at North Tees Hospital.

The dazed ref, from Silksworth in Sunderland, was later treated for concussion and made a full recovery.

The senior assistant took charge and a qualified replacement linesman was found among the crowd.